New York woman convicted of receiving Islamic State weapons training

A federal jury in New York has convicted Halima Salman of receiving weapons training from Islamic State, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The verdict, delivered on Tuesday, resolves a trial that centered on whether Salman acted as a willing participant in the militant group or as a captive teenager trapped in a foreign civil war. Prosecutors argued that the 27 year old US citizen pledged loyalty to the organization and actively engaged in its military activities during her time in Syria.

The case hinged on the extent of Salman’s agency while living under Islamic State control. Her defense attorneys portrayed her as a young woman coerced by her father and later dominated by an abusive husband. Salman testified that she attempted to leave the marriage multiple times and faced threats of death if she tried to escape. She stated that her father, who died in 2018 after being injured in an airstrike, was responsible for bringing the family to the region in 2017 under the pretense of visiting relatives in Turkey.

Prosecutors challenged the defense narrative by introducing digital evidence and video footage that they argued contradicted claims of a purely passive role. During cross-examination, Salman conceded that she sent a religious song about Osama bin Laden to her husband. The jury also reviewed text messages described as loving and a video showing her holding an assault rifle. Assistant US Attorney Amanda Shami told jurors that the evidence demonstrated Salman received military training from a violent terrorist organization responsible for global attacks.

The trial revealed a timeline of displacement and conflict that began when Salman was 17. Her family was surrounded by masked gunmen upon crossing into Syria and spent three months in housing run by the group. They relocated twice due to airstrikes. Salman described her marriage as involving heavy domestic labor and constant fear, noting that she saw dead bodies in the streets during periods of heavy bombing. She eventually fled with refugees in a truck, telling her husband they were separating, and did not see him again.

Salman was detained by anti-Islamic State forces in Baghuz, Syria, in 2019. She returned to New York in 2024, where US authorities arrested her. Brooklyn-based US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the verdict held Salman accountable for joining forces with a terrorist organization. The jury began deliberations on Thursday and indicated on Monday that it was struggling to reach a unanimous decision. Members declined to comment as they left the courtroom.

Salman’s legal team has asked the judge to set aside the verdict and acquit her, a procedural motion that is frequently filed but rarely granted. Such a move would occur if the judge determines the evidence did not legally support the conviction. Salman and her mother wept in the gallery after hearing the verdict and later embraced across the courtroom railing. The defense attorneys also declined to comment immediately after the jury’s decision.

Sentencing is currently scheduled for 2 February. Islamic State seized large portions of Iraq and Syria in 2014, declaring a caliphate that was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. The group remains active through sleeper cells in both countries.